ARRL Letter

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The ARRL Letter
Vol. 25, No. 10
March 10, 2006
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IN THIS EDITION:
* +FCC wants BPL system to ensure compliance, resolve harmful interference
* +Ham radio praised as "part of the solution" at FCC Katrina hearing
* +Via ham radio, ISS commander tells kids he's enjoying life in orbit
* +FCC advises California licensee to take two years off to avoid
enforcement
* +ARRL Regulatory Information Specialist John Hennessee, N1KB, SK
* +Commission spells out vanity call sign renewal procedures
* +Solar Update
* IN BRIEF:
This weekend on the radio
ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
ARRL CCE program issues Technician Course advisory
+Motorola white paper epitomizes BPL-Amateur Radio rapprochement
IARU represented at World Telecommunication Development Conference 2006
DXCC Honor Roll deadline looms
DX still king for 90-year-old radio amateur
Yet another DX record claimed on 134 GHz
+Available on ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>
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==>FCC DIRECTS MANASSAS BPL SYSTEM TO ACT FOLLOWING HAM'S INTERFERENCE
COMPLAINT
The FCC this week directed the City of Manassas, Virginia, and its BPL
system operator COMTek to conduct measurements to ensure its system complies
with FCC Part 15 rules. FCC Spectrum Enforcement Division Chief Joseph P.
Casey called on the city and COMTek March 7 to follow up on a report of
suspected BPL interference filed January 19 by ARRL member Dwight Agnew,
AI4II. The Commission also instructed the city to "resolve any continuing
harmful interference." Agnew, who frequently travels through Manassas and
operates mobile, alleges harmful BPL interference along Virginia Business
Route 234.
"I had been talking to a friend in Ohio while on my way home from work,"
Agnew told Casey via e-mail. "I could no longer hear him over the
interference on 40 meters (7.2 MHz) while driving through the city." Agnew,
who says the interference went away once he left the city, characterized its
effect as "like a giant, fuzzy mute."
COMTek operates the Manassas BPL system using Main.net equipment on
frequencies between 4 MHz and 30 MHz over a city-owned power grid. The FCC
wants the city to take measurements during peak BPL usage hours at locations
Agnew cited in his complaint and submit them within 30 days. Casey made it
clear that the city "must either eliminate any continuing harmful
interference" to Agnew's operations or reduce BPL emissions in the area to
20 dB below the Part 15 limit. The League challenges the assumption that
this level of attenuation necessarily will resolve interference issues.
To date, the FCC itself has not taken any measurements on any part of the
Manassas BPL system. When radio amateurs have filed interference complaints
involving BPL systems elsewhere, the Commission typically has tended instead
to rely on measurements made by system operators.
In January, after COMTek failed to meet its own commitment to resolve
longstanding interference complaints from local radio amateurs dating back
nearly two years, the ARRL again demanded the system's immediate shutdown.
Agnew's complaint is a new one, however.
In a separate letter March 7, Casey told four Manassas hams with complaints
already on file that they must provide "further information" within 30 days
or the FCC "will take no further action" on their complaints. The FCC, which
has yet to respond to any of the earlier ham radio complaints, concedes that
it continues to receive reports of harmful interference.
To expedite the information-gathering process, the ARRL on March 8 alerted
all radio amateurs living in ZIP code 20110 (Manassas) that "now is the
time" to submit harmful interference complaints relating to the city's BPL
system. "The first step is to verify that BPL is actually the source of the
interference," ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, advised. He stressed, however,
that the League does not want amateurs to file complaints unless they have
actually experienced BPL interference.
"With the FCC finally taking official notice of the presence of harmful
interference in Manassas, the tide finally is beginning to turn," Sumner
concluded.
==>VOLUNTEER RADIO AMATEURS "PART OF THE SOLUTION," FCC KATRINA PANEL TOLD
Addressing the FCC independent panel reviewing Hurricane Katrina's impact on
communication networks, ARRL Alabama Section Manager Greg Sarratt, W4OZK,
praised Amateur Radio's ability to get the job done. Speaking before the
panel March 7 in Jackson, Mississippi, Sarratt said Amateur Radio volunteers
were tremendously effective in their ability to re-establish communication
links using their own gear or by building systems from scratch.
"Amateur Radio operators themselves were part of the solution, providing
experienced communications operators to replace and supplement local public
service communications personnel in the devastated area," Sarratt said. The
volunteer radio amateurs and their equipment proved "very effective" in
supporting emergency management, the Red Cross, the Southern Baptist
Convention, The Salvation Army and many other organizations, he told the
panel.
For 37 days following Hurricane Katrina, Sarratt--working at an American Red
Cross disaster relief staging area in Montgomery, Alabama--headed the
volunteer effort to process Amateur Radio volunteers headed to the Gulf
Coast to assist recovery operations. Sarratt told the FCC panel that his
operation processed and deployed more than 200 ham radio volunteers from 35
states and Canada to devastated communities in Mississippi. Volunteers set
up communication facilities at kitchens, shelters, emergency operations
centers, distribution centers, warehouses and various command and control
centers, he said.
"In each town we set up a high frequency (HF) Amateur Radio station to
communicate out of the area to Montgomery and the outside world," Sarratt
explained. "We also set up a communications network connecting every Red
Cross facility in a town on a local short-range radio frequency. Our network
included fixed and mobile disaster vehicle stations."
Sarratt told the FCC panel that interoperability is the most important thing
Amateur Radio can bring to the table in emergency and disaster
communications. "Amateurs demonstrated their adaptability by communicating
successfully with a multitude of amateur, commercial, public service, EMA,
Salvation Army and Red Cross radio systems and personnel," he said.
"Radio amateurs bring a wealth of resources to the public service and
emergency communications table," Sarratt summed up. "The ARRL and Amateur
Radio will continue to prepare, train, practice and test ourselves for the
next event," he told the FCC panel. "Public service is a large component of
the charter of the Amateur Radio Service." He suggested installing permanent
Amateur Radio stations in federal, state and local emergency operations
centers as well as at selected public service, Red Cross chapters and other
served agencies.
Sarratt offered some recommendations for the FCC panel to consider,
suggesting that the Commission and the ARRL:
* collaborate to issue FCC credentials to the ARRL for Amateur Radio
responders.
* be key partners in an Amateur Radio awareness program for multiple
government agencies and the first-responder community.
* continue working together on critical frequency spectrum protection and
interference-avoidance issues.
"The disasters of 2005 have proven the worth of Amateur Radio Service and
its selfless cadre of operators; we were tested as never before," Sarratt
concluded, adding "we must assume the next 'big one' is just around the
corner."
ARRL provided a written report to the independent FCC review panel. ARRL
President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, recently named Sarratt to serve on the ARRL
National Emergency Response Planning Committee.
Dave Vincent, the station manager of WLOX-TV in Biloxi, Mississippi, also
praised ham radio in his remarks before the FCC panel. He said WLOX was
lucky to have a ham operator at its studio. Without the help of Amateur
Radio, Vincent said, "it probably would have been a couple of days before we
would have known whether the persons in our two bureaus had survived the
storm."
He said ham radio also enabled the station to contact EOCs in the three
hardest-hit coastal counties. "Without this link we would not have had any
way to communicate with officials along the coast," he said.
==>OHIO, NORTH CAROLINA YOUNGSTERS HELP ISS COMMANDER BOOST HIS QSO RECORD
Speaking via NA1SS, Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, this
month told youngsters in Ohio and North Carolina that he's been really been
enjoying his International Space Station duty tour. The Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) program arranged both contacts. During a
March 1 QSO with students at Country Day School in suburban Cincinnati,
Ohio, McArthur described his delight at being in space for his first
long-term visit.
"I think the biggest surprise was how much fun it was to be in space,"
McArthur said. "I thought I would enjoy the work, but what I found was that
everything about being in space is delightful."
Lifting off from Earth also was "another really cool thing to experience,"
McArthur explained in response to one student's question. "You're lying on
your back, and then all of a sudden you're gone, and it's a very thrilling,
exciting thing," he said. "When you come back, you realize how wonderful
zero gravity is, because gravity is just a lot of work--you feel tired, you
feel heavy and, very often, dizzy."
Later in the contact, McArthur said the best part of being an astronaut is
being able to tell people how exciting it is to explore space "and what an
important thing that is for humankind." In all the third, fourth and fifth
graders at Country Day managed 19 questions asked and answered during the
approximately 10-minute pass. Science teacher John French led the effort.
A few days later on March 3, McArthur chatted with youngsters at Harry
Hallyburton Elementary School in Drexel, North Carolina--his home state.
McArthur told the third graders in Deborah Childers' class that some of the
ISS crew's scientific research could directly benefit people.
"We're doing scientific research every day to help to understand the human
body better, and that can lead to new discoveries in medicine," McArthur
said. "But the real focus of our flight is to learn how people can live and
work in space for a very long time, because we think someday, human beings
will colonize other planets."
Responding to another question, McArthur told the youngsters that brushing
one's teeth in space does present a dilemma regarding what to do with "all
the foamy toothpaste" when you're done.
"We have two choices," he said. "We can either swallow it, which is what I
usually do, or if you don't like to do that, then you just hold a towel up
to your mouth and spit it directly into a towel."
Tony Hutchison, VK5ZAI, served as the Earth station for both ARISS school
group contacts, and Verizon Conferencing provided a two-way teleconference
link between Australia and the schools.
McArthur now has logged a record 30 ARISS school QSOs. ARISS is an
international educational outreach with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and
NASA.
==>FCC OFFERS DEAL TO CALIFORNIA LICENSEE TO AVOID ENFORCEMENT ACTION, FINES
The FCC has offered a California licensee a deal: Give up your Amateur Radio
license for two years or face further enforcement action and possible fines.
Special Counsel in the FCC Enforcement Bureau Riley Hollingsworth wrote
Steve L. Wingate, KG6TXH (ex-AE6QD), of Corte Madera on February 22 to
review a history of enforcement correspondence to Wingate dating back to
April 2004.
"The Enforcement Bureau has continued to receive complaints about the
operation of your station since January 2005," Hollingsworth told Wingate.
Conceding that while not all of the complaints were valid or recordings
genuine, Hollingsworth said evidence the FCC determined was legitimate
showed a pattern of similar alleged violations "for which you were warned
twice, and for which you twice gave assurances of future compliance,"
Hollingsworth pointed out.
Complaints about Wingate's alleged misdeeds led the Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau to set aside Wingate's vanity call sign and
renewal applications, Hollingsworth noted, "and now warrant enforcement
action against you." Sanctions could include license revocation and fines of
from $7500 to $10,000 "or both," Hollingsworth warned.
Wingate's responses to Enforcement Bureau letters coupled with continued
complaints, including recordings, and telephone conversations between the
FCC and Wingate "indicate that by your own admission you have a serious
problem with an impairment that prevents you from maintaining control over
your station," Hollingsworth said.
Hollingsworth emphasized that if Wingate declines to "accept this
opportunity to resolve this matter," the Commission would proceed with
enforcement action against his Amateur Extra class license.
Wingate has not yet taken the deal, Hollingsworth told ARRL this week, but
he did request copies of recordings that accompanied complaints of his most
recent alleged on-air behavior.
==>ARRL STAFF MEMBER JOHN C. HENNESSEE, N1KB, SK
The ARRL and the wider Amateur Radio community are mourning the loss of
long-time Headquarters staff member John Hennessee, N1KB (ex-KJ4KB), of
Newington, who died March 2. He was 42. Hennessee was a regulatory
information specialist in ARRL Field and Educational Services. In that role,
he answered a seemingly never-ending stream of members' questions about FCC
rules and regulations and other legal issues pertaining to ham radio. He
also was the primary editor for The ARRL FCC Rule Book. ARRL CEO David
Sumner, K1ZZ, described Hennessee as "a valued member of the Amateur Radio
community far outside the walls of Headquarters" who achieved a lot in his
brief lifetime.
"John came to Newington 20 years ago, fresh out of college, and quickly
became an expert in FCC rules and local land-use regulations affecting radio
amateurs," Sumner commented. "His death leaves a hole in the fabric of the
ARRL family."
First licensed at age 14 as KA4AUR in his hometown of Cheraw, South
Carolina, Hennessee joined the ARRL Headquarters staff as in 1986 following
graduation from Wingate College in North Carolina.
To handle hundreds of questions each year regarding how to interpret the FCC
rules required Hennessee to keep abreast of ongoing Amateur Radio legal and
regulatory matters and proceedings. That task became increasingly difficult
for him as his eyesight and general health continued to fail. Nonetheless,
he persevered in keeping on top of what was happening in areas ranging from
the PRB-1 limited federal pre-emption and covenants, conditions and
restrictions (CC&Rs) affecting ham radio antennas to new Amateur Radio rules
and privileges, license restructuring, reciprocal licensing and licensing
rules and procedures in other countries. He also maintained the regulatory
pages on the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/>.
Earlier in his Headquarters tenure, Hennessee for several years edited the
"Washington Mailbox" and "Happenings" columns in QST. He also contributed to
The ARRL Handbook, the ARRL Operating Manual and Now You're Talking!
Over the years, Hennessee was a Handi-Ham camp volunteer. "Campers loved his
gentle Southern manner." said Handi-Ham Manager Patrick Tice, WA0TDA.
"Unfailingly polite and ever so patient, John made each Handi-Ham member
feel like a long-lost friend!"
In addition to ARRL, Hennessee also belonged to the Quarter Century Wireless
Association and was an active member of the Newington Amateur Radio League,
where he was a Field Day regular. Over the years, he enjoyed operating
various bands and modes, and he enjoyed CW and low-power operating (QRP).
Those who knew or worked with Hennessee remember him as consistently
friendly, selfless, loyal, gracious, upbeat, willing and eager to help
whenever and wherever needed and, above all, as an asset to Amateur Radio in
general and to the ARRL in particular.
"The world is a better place because of John, and a sadder place without
him," said Senior Assistant Technical Editor Larry Wolfgang, WR1B, who
worked with Hennessee on numerous publications. Former ARRL Field and
Educational Services Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, was Hennessee's
supervisor during much of his HQ tenure. "John gave his all to ARRL
Headquarters and to the League's members," she said.
ARRL staff members gathered this week at Headquarters to reminisce about
Hennessee. "I like to think ARRL provided him with an outlet to share his
gifts with the world," Sumner observed. "Let's celebrate that this South
Carolina boy improbably found a home in Connecticut."
Survivors include his mother, Carole Hennessee, two sisters and his beloved
cat, Darlene. A service was held March 9 in Cheraw.
The family invites memorial gifts to the First United Methodist Church, PO
Box 129, Cheraw, SC 29520. Condolences sent to ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington,
CT 06111 will be forwarded to the family.
==>FCC CLARIFIES RENEWAL PROCEDURES FOR VANITY CALL SIGN HOLDERS
With the renewal window about to open for the first Amateur Radio licenses
assigned vanity call signs in 1996, the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau (WTB) has attempted to clarify filing procedures. The WTB says vanity
call sign holders whose licenses expire on or after June 4, 2006, must file
electronically or on paper via the Universal Licensing System (ULS)
<http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/> to renew their licenses. Amateur Radio
renewal applications may only be filed within 90 days of the license
expiration date.
"Licensees of stations assigned vanity call signs have the option of keeping
the vanity call sign or requesting that it be changed to a sequentially
assigned call sign," the WTB points out. Those opting to keep their vanity
call signs for the new 10-year license term must pay the current regulatory
fee, now $21.90, when renewing (the vanity call sign regulatory fee may
change in August or September). If the licensee no longer wants to keep a
vanity call sign, no fee is required, and the applicant should request a
sequentially assigned call sign instead.
Amateur Radio licensees holding vanity call signs granted prior to 1996 do
not have to pay a regulatory fee when renewing. This is because Congress did
not begin requiring the FCC to annually recover its regulatory costs until
1993. Additionally, such licensees are not specifically tagged as vanity
call sign holders in the ULS.
To renew electronically via the ULS, licensees should log into ULS License
Manager <http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/> Online Filing (click on "Log In")
using their FCC Registration Number (FRN) and Commission Registration System
(CORES) password. Anyone doing business with the FCC must supply an FRN on
any application.
To keep a vanity call sign, licensees should select "Renew" under the "Work
on this License" option. Fees for electronically filed applications may be
paid online or mailed to Federal Communications Commission, Regulatory Fees,
PO Box 358835, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-5835.
Online filers choosing not to renew a vanity call sign should select the
"Systematic Call Sign Change" option from the "Work on this License" list.
To obtain a new call sign, licensees should answer "No" to the question
"Your license is eligible for renewal. Renew call sign (vanity call sign)?"
Doing this will result in the issuance of a renewed license bearing a
sequentially assigned call sign.
Licensees filing on paper must use FCC Form 605 (main form), and--if a fee
is required--Form 159 (remittance advice). Licensees wishing to keep their
vanity call signs should enter "Renew" under "Purpose" on Form 605 and enter
the present call sign in item 5. Manual filers choosing not to renew their
vanity call signs must file Form 605 (main form) Schedule D in order to
obtain a new systematic call sign. The "Purpose" on the main form must be
"Renewal/Modification," and the "Systematic Call Sign Change" question on
Schedule D must be answered "Yes."
If no FRN is provided on the main form, an FCC Form 160 (registration) is
also required for manual filing. All forms are available via the FCC Forms
page <http://www.fcc.gov/formpage.html>.
For more information on how to renew an Amateur Radio vanity call sign,
visit the FCC Help & Support page <http://esupport.fcc.gov/index.htm> or
call the ULS Customer Support Hotline, 877-480-3201 (TTY 717-338-2824).
The ARRL handles routine non-vanity renewals for members free of charge. At
this time, it does not process renewal applications for post-1995 vanity
call sign holders, but ARRL plans to add that capability in the near future.
==>SOLAR UPDATE
Sun Gazer Tad "I'll Follow the Sun" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington,
reports: BIG news! A new computer model of solar dynamics produced by
scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) predicts
the next solar cycle to begin a bit later than previously thought, but to be
as much as 30 to 50 percent more intense than the current solar cycle just
ending. The model claimed to "predict" cycles 16-23 with 97 percent accuracy
using earlier data.
The NCAR news page has a report
<http://www.ucar.edu/news/releases/2006/sunspot.shtml>. So does the NASA Web
site
<http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2006/solar_cycle.html>.
Another article from Science@NASA claims the Cycle 23 solar minimum is
already here
<http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/06mar_solarminimum.htm>. A news
story also appears on the ARRL Web site
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/03/07/5/>.
Current propagation: Solar activity remains low, with many recent days of
zero sunspots and even more ahead. March 10 could have unsettled to active
geomagnetic conditions, with unsettled conditions March 11, quiet to
unsettled March 12, and quiet March 13.
Sunspot numbers for March 2 through March 8 were 0, 0, 13, 28, 27, 25 and
24, with a mean of 16.7. 10.7 cm flux was 76.1, 75.5, 75, 74.2, 73.6, 74.4,
and 72.4, with a mean of 74.5. Estimated planetary A indices were 4, 4, 3,
2, 8, 12 and 4, with a mean of 5.3. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 4,
2, 1, 1, 8, 6 and 3, with a mean of 3.6.
__________________________________
==>IN BRIEF:
* This weekend on the radio: The North American Sprint (RTTY), the RSGB
Commonwealth Contest, the Idaho, Oklahoma and Wisconsin QSO parties, the
AGCW QRP Contest, the UBA Spring Contest (CW) and the NSARA Contest are the
weekend of March 11-12. JUST AHEAD: The SARL VHF/UHF Contest, the 10-10
International Mobile Contest, the BARTG Spring RTTY Contest, the Russian DX
Contest, the AGCW VHF/UHF Contest, the CLARA and Family HF Contest, the
Virginia QSO Party, the UBA Spring Contest (6 meters), the 9K 15-Meter
Contest and the Run for the Bacon QRP Contest are the weekend of March
18-19. See the ARRL Contest Branch page <http://www.arrl.org/contests/> and
the WA7BNM Contest Calendar
<http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more info. JUST AHEAD:
See the ARRL Contest Branch page <http://www.arrl.org/contests/> and the
WA7BNM Contest Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html>
for more info.
* ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration:
Registration remains open through Sunday, March 19, for these ARRL
Certification and Continuing Education (CCE). Program on-line courses:
Amateur Radio Emergency Communication Level 1 (EC-001), Radio Frequency
Interference (EC-006), Antenna Design and Construction (EC-009), Technician
Licensing (EC-010), Analog Electronics (EC-012) and Digital Electronics
(EC-013). Classes begin Friday, April 7. To learn more, visit the CCE Course
Listing page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or contact the CCE
Department <cce@arrl.org&gt;.
* ARRL CCE program issues Technician Course advisory: The ARRL Certification
and Continuing Education (CCE) program reminds prospective radio amateurs
that a new Technician (Element 2) question pool goes into effect July 1. The
two Technician License courses (EC-010) the CCE program will offer in April
will reflect the current question pool. The first class begins April 7 and
continues through June 2 (registration ends March 20); the second begins on
April 28 and continues through June 23 (registration ends April 17). Because
these online courses are based upon the current question pool, CCE advises
students completing these April classes to take the FCC Technician class
(Element 2) examination by June 30.For more information contact the CCE
Department <cce@arrl.org&gt;.
* Motorola white paper epitomizes BPL-Amateur Radio rapprochement: A new
Motorola white paper, "Practical, Proven Broadband over Power Line,"
describes how its Powerline LV BPL system "passes muster with Amateur Radio
operators." Motorola and ARRL have cooperated in tests of the system, which
the League has cited in FCC filings as one that minimizes radio frequency
interference--both from and to the system--by design. "Motorola's white
paper bears out that the ARRL is not opposed to the deployment of
well-engineered BPL systems designed with interference avoidance in mind,"
ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, commented. "We are opposed to BPL
interference." Sumner said the League remains opposed to deployment of BPL
technology having "an inherently high probability of causing harmful
interference to radio communication." The Motorola white paper includes a
summary of the company's experiences after installing a Powerline LV system
at ARRL Headquarters and W1AW, as reported in November 2005 QST
<http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/0511085.pdf>. The Powerline LV system
avoids putting digital signals on medium-voltage power lines and
incorporates enhanced ham band notching.
* IARU represented at World Telecommunication Development Conference 2006:
An International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) delegation is representing
Amateur Radio at World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) 2006.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) conference got under way
March 7 in Doha, Qatar. IARU Vice President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA, IARU
International Coordinator for Emergency Communications Hans Zimmermann,
F5VKP/HB9AQS, and IARU Region 1 Vice Chairman Tafa Diop, 6W1KI, are
attending. WTDC 2006 will focus on development priorities aimed at bridging
the "digital divide." Following in the footsteps of the recently concluded
World Summit on the Information Society, the resulting Doha Action Plan will
focus on utilizing the full potential of information and communication
technologies to "connect the unconnected and accelerate the pace of social
and economic development," the ITU says. Approximately 1000 delegates from
government, the private sector and international and regional organizations
were expected to attend WTDC 2006, which continues through March 15. ARRL
Technical Specialist Jon Siverling, WB3ERA, tracked US preparations for the
conference.
* DXCC Honor Roll deadline looms: The deadline for the next ARRL DXCC Honor
Roll list is rapidly approaching. In order to appear in next list, which
will be published in August 2006 QST, operators must be current on the DXCC
Honor Roll as of March 31, 2006--the last day applications may be
postmarked. To qualify for the DXCC Honor Roll, operators must be within the
numerical top 10 of the overall entities on the DXCC List. Since there are
335 current entities on the DXCC List, the minimum level to make the Honor
Roll is 326 current entities. Deleted entities do not count toward DXCC
Honor Roll. Wall plaques remain available for those currently or previously
on the Honor Roll. The DXCC Web site has the order form and more information
<http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/>.
* DX still king for 90-year-old radio amateur: Veteran DXer and contester
John Thompson, W1BIH, has been largely out of the game since disposing of
his tower, antennas and linear and moving into a retirement community in
Massachusetts last year. But the DXCC Honor Roll member held onto his
transceiver and his desire to work the few rare ones he lacked. When the
3Y0X Peter I DXpedition got under way in February, Don Greenbaum, N1DG, did
his older friend a good turn by taking Thompson to his station February 9
for a crack at 3Y0X. During the last two Peter I Island DXpeditions,
Thompson was at his winter home, PJ9JT, so Peter I has been among his most
wanted. It only took about 30 minutes for W1BIH to make himself heard
through the fray on 15-meter SSB and exchange reports. "We got him!"
Thompson exclaimed seconds after the quick QSO. Greenbaum captured the
occasion on video <http://005d89a.netsolhost.com/videos/videos/w1bih.wmv>.
Once confirmed and submitted to DXCC, the 3Y0X QSO will elevate W1BIH into a
tie for second place in the DXCC standings at 390 entities--including
deleted entities--or 335 current entities. W1BIH subsequently worked 3Y0X
from his retirement community station on 20-meter CW while running 100 W
into a G5RV strung from his window some 20 feet above ground.
* Yet another DX record claimed on 134 GHz: Inveterate microwave enthusiast
Brian Justin, WA1ZMS, says he's once again topped his own claimed world DX
record on the 134-GHz band. On February 26, Justin, operating as WA1ZMS/4 in
EM96ur, and Pete Lascell, W4WWQ, in FM07fm--both in Virginia--exchanged
reports on FSK-CW (copied by ear) over a distance of 114.4 km (approximately
70.9 miles). That beats his previous world DX record of 79.6 km
(approximately 49.35 miles) set in December.
===========================================================
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ARRL members first must register on the Members Only Web Site
<http://www.arrl.org/members/>. You'll have an opportunity during
registration to sign up for e-mail delivery of The ARRL Letter, W1AW
bulletins, and other material. To change these selections--including
delivery of The ARRL Letter--registered members should click on the "Member
Data Page" link (in the Members Only box). Click on "Modify membership
data," check or uncheck the appropriate boxes and/or change your e-mail
address if necessary. (Check "Temporarily disable all automatically sent
email" to temporarily stop all e-mail deliveries.) Then, click on "Submit
modification" to make selections effective. (NOTE: HQ staff members cannot
change your e-mail delivery address. You must do this yourself via the
Members Only Web Site.)
The ARRL Letter also is available to all, free of charge, from these
sources:
* ARRLWeb <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>. (NOTE: The ARRL Letter will be
posted each Friday when it is distributed via e-mail.)
* The QTH.net listserver, thanks to volunteers from the Boston Amateur Radio
Club: Visit Mailing Lists@QTH.Net
<http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/letter-list>. (NOTE: The ARRL
cannot assist subscribers who receive The ARRL Letter via this listserver.)

The ARRL Letter

The ARRL Letter offers a weekly summary of essential news of interest to active amateurs that is available in advance of publication in QST, our official journal. The ARRL Letter strives to be timely, accurate, concise and readable.

Much of the ARRL Letter content is also available in audio form in ARRL Audio News.

Material from The ARRL Letter may be republished or reproduced in whole or in part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.

Back issues published since 2000 are available on this page. If you wish to subscribe via e-mail, simply log on to the ARRL Web site, click on Edit Your Profile at the top, then click on Edit Email Subscriptions. Check the box next to The ARRL email newsletter, the ARRL Letter and you will receive each weekly issue in HTML format. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Plain-Text

The ARRL E-Letter e-mail is also available in plain-text version:

Outlook Express

1. From the Inbox view, select the Tools menu and the Options selection.

2. Click the Read tab

3. Check the Read All Messages In Plain Text box. When you open the e-mail, it will be in plain text without images. Other e-mail programs may be able to make a Mail Rule for e-mail received from the address memberlist@www.arrl.org so that the plain-text-only display is selected automatically.

Outlook 2007

Use the same procedure as for Outlook Express, although the global option is under "Tools/Trust Center/E-mail Security".

Use the "Message text garbled?" link in the drop-down menu at the upper right of the displayed message block. pine, alpine Set "prefer-plain-text" in your ~/.pinerc configuration file: feature-list=..., prefer-plain-text, ...